Ice-cutter for third-rail electric railways.



No. 758,153. TATBNTED A1111. 26,1901

' s. 1s. STEWART, 1R.

GE GUTTER FOR THIRD RAIL ELECTRIC RILWAYS1 APPLIUATION FILED SBF120, 1901.

No MUDBL.

l l l 1 Wlnesses.

, Patented April 26,1904.-

UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE.-

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR., OF SCHENECTADY, NEI/Vf YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, CORPORATION OF NEW'YORK.

IGE-GUTTER'FOR THIRD-ami. ELCTRIC AiLw'AY's.

SPECIFICATION forming partv of Letters Patent No. 758,153, date/'d April 26, 1904. Application filed September 20,1901. Serial No. 7` ,\79|ii.A (No Infidel.) j

To all, whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. STEWART, J r.

a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady and Stateof New York, have invented certain new ,and useful Improvements in Ice-Cutters for Third-Rail Electric Railways, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to third-rail electric 10 railwaysx in which the working conductor is a third rail laid parallel with and adjacent to the track-rails and supplying current to the motors on the cars through a shoe carried on the car and sliding on the `top or upper surfacerof the third rail. It is essential that a good contact be maintained between this shoe `and the rail; but as the rail is usually exposed to the weather it is liable to become coated with ice in the winter.

My invention aims to provide means for removing the ice from the top of the rail; and to this end it consists in a device mounted on the car preferably nearto and in advance o the trolley-shoe and serving to crack up and scrape od the ice as the car moves along.

In the drawings, Figure l is a side view of a car-truck equipped with my invention. Fig.

2 is a top plan sectional view of the ice-scraper on an enlarged scale. Fig. 3 is a sectional end view of the same.

The truck A is of the usual construction, having on one side a beam B, on which is supported the trolley-shoe C, resting and sliding on the third rail D, which is preferably an or- ;5 dinary railway-rail supported on insulators E. Secured to the beam B is a bar F, of wood or other insulation, from which depend two parallel U-shaped hangers Gr, between which y are journaled one or more cutting-wheels H. t0 The journals la have some vertical play in upright slots g in the hangers, so that the wheels can rest on the third rail and rise and fall with any slight irregularities of the track. The wheels are wide enough to extend entirelyT l5 across the tread of the rail irrespective ci' the lateral play of the truck. They are solid and heavy, and their vperipheries are provided w'lth sharp teeth preferably diagonal to the axis of the wheel, as shown.

The weight of vextended journals ofthe wheel-shafts.

the wheels causes lthese teeth to cut into and crack up the coating of ice on the rail. eiIect is heightened by running the diagonal lines on the wheelsin differ-ent directions, as shown inFig. 2, so that the cuts made by one wheel cross those made by the other. To remove the broken ice, one or more scrapers are arranged adjacent to the cutting wheels. These are preferably sharp blades I, set diagonally to the rail, so as not to catch in the rail-joints, and carried in swinging frames K, pivoted to the hangers G' preferably orsi the toppins g just above the inner ends of the frames prevent them from dropping too far. The blades rest o n the third rail and scrape off to one side the pieces of ice broken up by the cutting-wheels. By using two sc1apers-one before and one behind the cutting-wheels#- the device will work equally Well when run ning in either direction. y

My invention provides a simple and eliicient means for keeping the third rail clear of ice and snow and insures a good contact for the trolley-shoe.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent oi' the United States, is-

1. The combination with a motor-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of two ice-breaking wheels having diagonal teeth adapted to engage the third rail, the teeth on one wheel running in a dierent direction from those on thev'other wheel.

2. The combination with a motor-truck, of

a beamcarrying a third-rail trolley-shoe, in

sulated hangers depending from said beam, and having upright slots, and one or more ice-breaking wheels having their journals received in said slots.

3. The combination with a motor-truck, of a beam carrying a third-rail trolley-shoe, insulated hangers depending from said beam inrThis dependent of the means for attaching the trolley-shoe to said beam, and frames pivoted to said hangers and carrying scraping-blades.

4. The combination with a motor-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of ice-breaking wheels carried by said truck and having a vertical play relative to said truck, and a frame rail, and pivotally-mounted scraping-blades adjacent to said wheels.

6. The combination with a motor-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of hangers insulatedv from said truck, ice-breaking wheels journaled in said hangers and having vertical play, frames pivoted on the journals of said wheels, and scraping-blades in said frames set diagonally to the third rail.

7 The combination with a motor-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of hangers carried by said truck, ice-breaking wheels journaled in said hangers said wheels having toothed peripheries adapted to engage the upper surface of the third rail, and Scrapers adjacent to said wheels.

8. rEhe combination with amotor-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of ice-breaking wheels supported from said truck said wheels having toothed peripheries adapted to engage the upper surface of the third rail,and Scrapers for removing from the third rail the ice broken by the said wheels independent of the direction of movement of said truck.

9. The combination with a car-truck for a third-rail electric railway, of two ice-breaking wheels having diagonal teeth adapted to engage the entire upperjsurface of the third rail the teeth of one wheel running in a different directionv from those on the other wheel, and Scrapers for removing from said third rail the ice broken by said Wheels independent of the direction of movement of the said truck.

10. As a means for removing ice or sleet from electric-railway third rails, a pressureroller carried by the moving vehicle and traveling on the third rail, said roller having corrugations on its periphery at an angle to said periphery.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my Y hand this 16th day of September, 1901.

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR. Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, MARGARET E. WooLLEY. 

